King of the Superficial
by Drones-of-Innocence
Summary: Famous actors must have a hard time at cons. Or so you'd think. Title inspired by the famous line of a Muse song.


"Can I ask you a question?"

A stifled sigh and a forced, plastered smile upwards elicited a shy squeal from the girl in front of him. He combed back his blonde hair with his hand, and sat up further in his chair to present himself properly, as if he hadn't just been visited and fawned over by hundred of indistinguishable faces much like the one in front of him. He folded his hands in front of himself and nodded to the young girl, fighting to maintain his steady demeanour. "Well, of course, my dear. It is what I'm here for." he gave her the same answer he'd given to over half of them. For some reason, none of them ever got tired of it.

The girl's face lit up and, with shaking hands, she offered a sheet of paper upon which, he presumed, was her own creation. A coloured drawing of what could possibly be his character, the bright lead Inthral Darkkur, from the hit TV series Faerie Tales, along with someone else. It took him only a split second to recognise the second character, along with the whimsical signature next to it. It took all the restraint he had to not grit his teeth and growl at it. "Ah, I see you are a fan of Journey Through Space as well." he managed to look up and smile sweetly at her.

"Y-yes, Mr. Kirkland! Would you please sign this? A-actually, this is gonna sound weird, but I ship...Them…" the girl bit her lip and took back the drawing with a barely-restrained yelp of delight. She gestured to the characters. "I think Inthral and Captain Felsef are so cute together! I mean, they go so well!"

Arthur blinked and watched her gesture around patiently after he had signed his(notably neater signature) next to the drawing of Inthral, attempting to look like he didn't understand. "But...They're from completely different universes." he feigned a confused tone, frowning slightly. "Inthral invests himself into the mysteries of the paranormal Earth, while Captain Felsef takes to the skies. Don't you think that would make them polar opposites?"

He wasn't sure what she expected. Did she want him to jump out of his chair and scream "Oh my God I ship them too!" Did she think he'd agree to such a wild crossover without any actual pretenses for it? Did she honestly imagine he, a mere actor, would speculate such preposterous fantasies? If he were honest, by the look of her, she thought all of those things. She seemed to be caught by complete surprise, giving him the most dumbfounded look.

Raising his eyebrows, he wondered if she'd gone into cardiac arrest.

Finally, she took in a breath and Arthur sighed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Ah, um, sorry. M-Mr. Jones was...More enthusiastic about the idea o-of Felthral. I thought you would…" she trailed off.

"Unfortunately, I am not Mr. Jones." Arthur smiled politely.

That must have been enough. Without even a 'thank you' for the signature, the girl turned and marched off quite dismissively. "Well." he said. Despite the slightly rude departure, Arthur found himself relieved. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, thankful that the room suddenly seemed quite empty.

For a moment, he felt at peace. He gave the tendons in the back of his neck a quick rub and closed his eyes, crossing his arms and lowering his head just a bit. He could afford a few minutes of dozing, if it would get him through the next few hours he had to sit and smile and sign things for young ladies.

He wondered- what was so fascinating with Felthral? That was the ship name that had been given to the pairing of the character he portrayed, and the main character from the other hit TV series, Journey Through Space. It didn't make sense in Arthur's head. Inthral Darkkur was a inquisitive character, sharp-witted but optimistic despite all of the frightening situations he's been in. He thrived on discovering the answers to mysteries, which made curiosity his greatest flaw. Meanwhile, Captain Felsef Jordan was as audacious and serious as a Starship captain could get. He was bold, but dark, which somehow ended up being his perfect fatal flaw.

Such a vibrant character and such a brooding character simply did not go well together, in Arthur's mind. Inthral would find it difficult to trust someone enough to have a romantic relationship, and Felsef would likely overwhelm Inthral with his surliness...That would be, if Felsef could even find it in himself to love such a hopeful person in the first place.

All of it was making Arthur's head hurt. He pinched the bridge of his nose gently, hoping to soothe the ache. Both characters were very stubborn, and probably wouldn't want to come out of their own universes, much less merge them. Inthral was better off in the forests of fairy-tale earth, fighting the remaining malevolent supernatural beings that remained, and Felsef was better off in some distant quadrant of space, fighting violent alien species…

"Hey." a quiet voice in front of him made Arthur sigh deeply. "Hey, Artie. I got something for ya."

Arthur opened his eyes with a dull look, only to see a Starbucks cup delicately placed in front of him. The hand that put it there led to a strong forearm, and then to the rolled up sleeve of an expensive Oxford shirt, and finally, to the figure of the exact man Arthur did not want to see.

He blinked, unimpressed. "What's this?" he asked.

A kind smile and a curious tilt of the head. "For you!" came the answer. "How are you doing, Artie?"

Arthur rolled his eyes and looked away, anywhere but those big blue eyes regarding him with nothing but bubbling happiness. The man had been here longer than he had, for Christ's sake! Did he ever run out of energy? "Kindly refrain from calling me that. What can I do for you, Mr. Jones?" he inquired in the most uninterested tone he could possibly muster.

The Mr. Jones in question, the famed and popular Alfred F. Jones, was very much unlike the character he played. Arthur wasn't sure how he even managed to compose himself long enough to portray Captain Felsef properly. Alfred was very happy, very kind, very loving, and was very much the epitome of what every fan wanted in a famous actor. Unlike Arthur, who was actually a grumpy and ill-tempered man, Alfred could take all the adoration for him in stride and return it with just as much, if not more enthusiasm. He thrived on attention, and, like some species of alien that existed in the very show he starred it, Alfred seemed to adopt more and more qualities everyone loved with every con and interview.

To Arthur, who would never in a million years admit he was jealous of the man, Alfred was just a lucky and young star with no real personality.

For whatever reason, however, this 'lucky and young star with no personality' seemed fixated on charming him.

With a warm smile, Alfred scratched the back of his head, his cheeks turning a little pink. "S-sorry, Arthur. I, uh. _Ahem_." he cleared his throat. "I just wanted to give you a little visit! You looked a little tired out dealing with all these fans. I know how ya feel, dude. Man, there's just so many of them! It gets a little tedious sometimes, they all ask the same stuff, ya know? And I mean, it's cute and all that so many of them love our shows, and it's real sweet that they stand in line just to meet us, but…" the fan favourite began to go off on a long, rambling tangent that Arthur hardly listened to, just nodding dully at all the right moments. He watched, while Alfred awkwardly gestured around, and while he tried to explain that he related to how Arthur felt, which, frankly, Arthur couldn't bring himself to care. The boy was simply too superficial for him to really care at all.

There just...Wasn't anything _there_. Arthur even narrowed his eyes a little bit, scrutinising him for some sort of realistic quality from the perfect poster boy. He was still gesturing around like a fool, and hadn't appeared to notice Arthur's lack of interest. But everything he did, everything he was from the little dimples in his cheeks, to his cute, almost juvenile sense of style, even to his lighthearted and dorky sense of humour, was just too refined to be real. He also had the American dream boy advantage, including the blue eyes and blonde hair to go with it. It just wasn't possible to compete. Arthur had a sneaking suspicion that the boy was secretly an alien spy sent in to brainwash the younger generations.

"...but if you think about it, isn't it kind of cool? To combine two entirely different universes together and to force each character to discover the other...I think it's neat!" Alfred was saying, with a shy shrug. "I mean, the way most people portray it, it looks kinda weird because they're so obsessed with the, um, _intimate_ details. But I've been thinking about Felthral a lot and I think it could be a really awesome crossover if it's done right. Ya know?"

It took Arthur a moment to realise the pause meant Alfred was waiting for his input. He sat up and cleared his throat, starting to doubt if he actually looked uninterested or not because Alfred didn't seem to see it at all. "Er, I suppose it does have...Some element of...Interest." he shrugged, trying not to become entranced with the sudden way that Alfred was looking at him, begging, imploring him desperately to understand, to feel something for what he was talking about.

Arthur hesitated, then added "I suppose it wouldn't be...H-horrible." his voice caught when Alfred's expression lit up, so suddenly and so brightly that it startled him. There was something so relieved about his expression, something not unlike the expression a child had when they were searching for validation. Unfortunately, Arthur was rather fond of children, so he found the expression quite adorable. He wanted to smack himself for continuing. "Actually, I suppose it's not a bad idea at all."

Alfred grinned widely in response, clearly delighted at such an answer. "Great! Uhh…" He looked off to the side, and both of them could hear some official faintly calling for Alfred. It was Arthur's turn to be relieved, at least until he noticed that Alfred had physically drooped. Almost immediately, he tried to straighten up as if he hadn't just been waiting for a burden to go away. The sheer resemblance to a child Alfred had made him feel bad, so he blamed it on that. "I, um, they're calling for me, I think I gotta go." Alfred said meekly, making Arthur wonder if he was actually an adult. Despite his apparent sadness, he did try to muster up a weak smile, and waved at Arthur before turning to leave. "Enjoy your Starbucks!" he called as he rushed off.

Oh. Right. Arthur's gaze fell to the generously sized cup that had been set before him. And though he hated coffee, it would be rude to waste the boy's money. No matter how rich he was. Arthur wrinkled his nose and let out a rough sigh before gently taking the cup and removing the little green stirrer. He supposed he would need any kind of caffeine he could get to take on the rest of the day. Not even bothering to smell it, he took a tentative sip. Only to almost spit it out in surprise.

It wasn't coffee at all. It was his favourite blend of tea.

O~o~O

Felthral was more popular than Arthur had thought.

It was so popular, in fact, that the con organised an entire panel for it last minute. It ended up being the most successful out of all of them, and Arthur wasn't sure if he was surprised or not. Perhaps it was just his luck.

A quick sweep of the room revealed that every seat was filled, and those who hadn't gotten there earlier were standing along the walls or in the back. Arthur tried to casually massage his temples. _What the hell, there are so many people here who like this bloody ship_! Someone was talking, Arthur didn't care who, probably some cast member from Journey Through Space about something to do with Felthral. Only listening half heartedly, Arthur was more occupied with looking around the audience while looking like he was paying attention. After all, if there was one thing he was good at, it was acting. All around the room were people there to see he and one other man, which was ridiculous. There were young girls, young boys, men, women, children-

"...think, Arthur?" Arthur's head snapped up, and he glanced over to where Alfred was seated right next to him. The blue-eyed beauty watched him expectantly, as did many people, all wanting some answer that Arthur didn't know the full context of.

He tried to see what he could gather just by looking around at everyone, pretending to think very deeply. On the screen behind he and Alfred was fanart of Felthral, one image depicting happiness and harmony and the other depicting chaos and corruption across the universe. He managed a discreet glance to it and then looked back to Alfred. He managed a tight smile at him and then turned to the asker out in the audience. "I think it's hard to say." he said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "There's a lot of ways it could go wrong, of course. Both of their characters are distrustful and are very close to being complete opposites...But I...Suppose if, er, say Inthral opened up enough to be willing to show Felsef something from his world, or vice versa, it might allow for some positive interaction…" he trailed off.

A general hum of approval came from the crowd, and Alfred grinned happily at him. He supposed he'd answered sufficiently enough, and sat back in relief, only to tense up again when the next question was directed at him.

Shyly holding up the microphone, a young man spoke up."This is for Arthur, um, you say that both characters are distrusting. But in the more recent episodes and with Inthral's current character arc, wouldn't you say he's more open now?"

Arthur smiled stiffly at the boy. "Well, of course, lad. You do have a point; Inthral has developed a lot from where we first saw him. Originally, I suppose he was young and naive, but now he is experienced and has more of a handle on his own abilities. He definitely trusts himself more, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't be cautious if, say, a runaway spacecraft came crashing down to earth." he gestured around a bit to emphasise what he meant, and thought through the rest of his response carefully. It didn't take long for him to come up with something to say that could entertain the audience. "I can't say I would be open to a bulky, destructive plastic toy tearing up the land, especially in Inthral's position, where nothing of the kind exists on earth."

Almost immediately, Arthur felt Alfred look at him coldly, as well as several fans of Journey Through Space. He wasn't surprised; he expected a reaction like that.

"Hey." Alfred spat in Felsef's voice, earning a few excited cheers from the crowd. The low, husky and authoritative tone was widely known and loved, and fans just loved it when actors went into character at panels. "A spaceship is _not_ a toy. They are designed to withstand the most extreme environments in space, carry a crew and civilians, and be able to defend itself when attacked. You don't just call a sophisticated machine like that a toy. Especially not my USS Bald Eagle. She's as sleek and gorgeous as you can get for a starship." 'Felsef' puffed out his chest with pride and looked off into the distance thoughtfully, as if he was showing off his ship to a new crew. Then, Alfred's eyes met Arthur's, twinkling brightly in what Arthur reckoned was thanks, for introducing such an opportunity. But then, those eyes narrowed into a stage-dare for Arthur.

Having expected a sort of speech of the like, Arthur merely smirked and accepted the challenge. With a careful breath, he leaned only slightly towards his microphone, his eyes on Alfred's the entire time. He could see Alfred struggling to keep in character, for a smile kept tugging on his lips. Coyly, Arthur replied in a deep, resonant voice that echoed around the room with "I'm Batman."

He could see the confusion replace the look on Alfred's face, and it took only a moment before nearly everyone in the room was laughing, including himself. Struggling not to chuckle into the microphone, he added "Seriously! Everyone on that show has to talk in the deepest voice possible! It's just so…" he reverted back to his deep voice, which came off as deeper than Felsef's and slightly demonic on purpose. "It's so silly, it's like the men try to test their masculinity with how deep their voice can go. Is it really necessary?" the room resounded with laughter, and even Alfred let out a snort and started giggling into his microphone. Bloody giggling.

Somehow, Arthur spoke completely unlike Inthral. But, again, somehow, it was perfectly in character. Everyone was hooting, and even one of the directors couldn't sit up straight because of how hard he was laughing. Alfred finally covered his face with his hands, once everyone noticed his cheeks turning pink. "Oh God, Arthur," Alfred laughed helplessly.

When they weren't in character, it was pretty clear that Arthur had a naturally lower pitched voice than Alfred. Maybe not Felsef's, but he had been waiting to make fun of that fact for awhile.

It took a little bit before everyone was sobered enough for them to continue, and it involved Alfred leaning over on Arthur to hide his face(to which someone shrilly screamed out "I ship it!") and Arthur sighing and awkwardly patting Alfred's head. The gesture almost made him regret joking around like that. Almost. It was worth it to see Alfred's face.

The questions started up again, the volunteers organising the last askers. Arthur looked up when the voice of a woman came through the speakers. "This is for Alfred. What do you think of Arthur as a person and an actor?"

Neither Alfred nor Arthur expected a question like that. They shared a glance, and Arthur realised that Alfred looked slightly apprehensive. Raising his eyebrows, Arthur just watched while Alfred slowly turned to look back at the asker, and open his mouth to answer.

"Ah...Haha. Uh. Well." Alfred went a little pink in the face again, making Arthur's lips quirk briefly in amusement. What was so hard about it? He didn't understand, but he thought it was sort of funny. "Arthur's really talented, as y'all know. I...I really admire him and usually reference him when I don't know how to play a role or get in the feel of a character."

Arthur's eyes widened and he looked at Alfred in shock, only to see that the other actor had lowered his head a little shyly. "He's very good at what he does. I mean, you talk to him and he comes off as a little grumpy and irritable sometimes." he went on, trying to play down the obvious, to which Arthur rolled his eyes. "But then, you see him act, and it's just...It's almost like you'd ever expect it from him. He changes completely, pretty much becoming any character he portrays. I mean, there's Inthral, Dorian, Sherlock, Winston…" he began listing several of Arthur's previous roles, some of which Arthur had nearly forgotten about. Arthur hadn't realised Alfred was so well-versed with his work. "...And all of those are such spectacularly different characters! Yet he becomes the character, showing us a side that isn't his but one that he's so very good at changing. He's also far more experienced than I am, and honestly I don't know why I share the place of the fan favourite with him because he's so amazing and skilled, and I don't think I can compare."

The room was silent only for a moment, before Alfred was answered with several excited cheers, or, more likely, whoops of delight at the 'confirmation' of a ship. Arthur continued to stare at Alfred with a mystified look while Alfred avoided his eyes. God, that had to be the weirdest thing Arthur had witnessed from Alfred. "Ah, um." he coughed awkwardly into the microphone. "That...Th-that's very kind of you." Arthur spoke up, not meaning for his voice to be so soft.

Alfred finally risked a glance at him and smiled weakly, clearly embarrassed at admitting such a thing. And Arthur couldn't convince himself the boy was acting.

He supposed the crowd left that evening very satisfied, as neither of the actors could make it through much more questioning since they had both become very flustered. Once Arthur and Alfred were released, Arthur could finally stop pretending he was full of energy and collapsed against a wall, pulling on the mask he was to use to disguise himself while he exited the building. It was one of those silly unicorn head masks that he received as a gift from one of the cast members of Faerie Tales, and he had grown quite fond of it.

"Dude. You look exhausted." Arthur looked up and immediately recognised Alfred, even through the Spiderman mask he was wearing. Muffled through the mask, Alfred laughed a little weakly and leaned heavily on the wall opposite to Arthur. "I feel ya, though. I think I'd be fine if I could just sleep for the next few months."

Arthur nodded his head in faint agreement, unsure of how he felt about Alfred coming and talking to him. Normally, he'd be annoyed, but he supposed he was too tired to really care right then. Besides, Alfred had just finished flattering Arthur beyond all reason, so Arthur couldn't bring himself to be opposed anyway.

Shifting awkwardly, Alfred fidgeted with his hands like he didn't know what to do with them. "Hey, uh, it's not yet dark out, you wanna go get something to eat or something? I mean, uh- just- s-something to eat. Haha." he seemed to realise he said 'something' twice and rubbed his forehead out of embarrassment. "That is, if you, uh, want to. I mean I won't drag you with me to get something to eat, wouldn't that be weird? I'm making this weird, aren't I?" Alfred trailed off with nervous laughter.

It was weird enough to make Arthur look up from the floor, at least. "Yea, you did. Only a little, don't worry about it." he decided to take it easy on Alfred and crossed his arms. He was a little too weary to keep his posture perfectly straight, so his shoulders were sagging a little. Just out of curiosity, his gaze flitted about Alfred's figure, and he noticed he wasn't exactly standing up straight either.

"Yea, s-sorry about that, I didn't mean to- wait, really?" Alfred asked incredulously, watching Arthur nod. "Oh, uh...Okay! I just kinda wanted to discuss Felthral a little more. With you. And take a break from a bunch of people. Is that alright?" he looked up hopefully.

Again, Arthur nodded, and then realised he should probably say something. "Sure. Anything to get out of here, really." He didn't have the heart to say he didn't actually want to talk about Felthral anymore since he seemed to have been discussing the subject all day, so he just went with it. Maybe Alfred wouldn't expect him to do much more than nod or occasionally agree out loud.

Luckily, Alfred took his response well. Gesturing towards the exit, Alfred turned and started walking, so Arthur followed.

He noticed Alfred didn't walk very fast. It didn't make much sense; he was taller, and had longer legs, but perhaps he was just relaxed and couldn't be bothered with urgency. If only Arthur was that easy going; he had to restrain himself from walking ahead of Alfred.

They waded through the throngs of people wandering about the con. The crowds were thick, and they were almost separated several times, but they usually could manage to get back. No one recognised them, of course, not with the masks. Unfortunately, this meant no one had a problem with rudely cutting either of them off. It only took a couple of rows for Arthur to get frustrated and testy. It took a couple more for Alfred to have enough, and he grabbed for Arthur's hand before someone barreled in between them.

Startled when he was gently yanked towards Alfred, Arthur wanted to yell out loud to chew him out for it, but he shoved any obscenities down before they had the chance to be given voice. He took a few moments to breathe deeply and calm down, convincing himself that Alfred hadn't wronged him. But the annoying crowd was making his feathers puff up, and it was taking all he had not to snap right then and there.

Hand in hand, they worked together to get through the ridiculous amount of people, until they finally made for the exit. Arthur didn't think anything on earth was as beautiful as the door to the outside. Once the door was pushed open and the actors were introduced to the California heat, they released each other's hands and paused to take a break.

"Good God." Arthur grumbled, feeling like he was finally able to breathe clearly, even through the mask.

Alfred let out a short, whiny sigh. "I know, right? That was...Horrible. I wish I'd never have to do that again."

Nodding in agreement, Arthur tipped his head back to look at the sky. _This will be over before you know it_ , he told himself. Alfred didn't seem to want to delay much either. He called someone to pick them up, and soon they were riding to the nearest restaurant with decent food. Under Arthur's advisement, obviously.

It was dark by the time they were actually eating.

In between bites, and sometimes in the middle of them, Alfred babbled on and on excitedly about Felthral, and asked deep questions that Arthur had no choice but to reply thoughtfully for. The room was nice and dimly lit with candles and faint fairy lights, but it seemed it was mostly lit up by Alfred, who was very animated and enthusiastic throughout the conversation.

He made points that actually got Arthur interested in the crossover. They were wild, detailed points that he'd never heard before, and they showed just how much time Alfred had dedicated to coming up with the universe. Sometimes they presented contradictions, so Arthur corrected them until they made sense. Alfred was never shy about admitting his mistakes or where his thoughts were fuzzy, and always listened very intently to Arthur. It took a bit for Arthur to even get used to that; all day, he had been talked over and ignored by what felt like the world, but for once someone was listening to him and letting him finish his thoughts.

With the way Alfred was looking at him, with such an innocently interested and fondly fascinated gaze, Arthur felt open enough to admit some of his own thoughts that went nicely with the crossover. He was genuinely startled with how well Alfred received them.

They both came up with how their characters would act around one another, how much of a focus there should be on the ship, what kind of adventures they would have, how they would get closer, and Arthur didn't recall the last time he'd been so excited for a fantasy. He also didn't recall the last time he'd had so much fun talking to someone, or the last time he found someone's smile so endearing.

"I think we just scripted out an entire season's worth of Felthral." he said after a short period of reflective silence, nibbling on a bite of his fish. He looked up, raising his eyebrows at Alfred, who had stopped eating abruptly, and was staring at the table in shock.

Then, swallowing his food down, Alfred nodded excitedly at him. "We did! We totally did, dude, we should tell someone! Maybe propose it to our show's directors?" he had a happy blush on his cheeks, and Arthur found himself realising a truth he'd been desperate to ignore the entire time they had known one another.

It was an odd place to, seeing as they were in the middle of a practically empty restaurant and all they were doing was talking about the possibilities of introducing a gay fictional couple for their shows. And yet, Arthur lowered his fork slowly as he stared, entranced, at Alfred. God, was he a beauty.

How long had this gone on? Arthur had no idea. He had tried to convince himself that Alfred was superficial and plastic, even. But had he just been hiding his attraction over that? This whole time, he'd...Masked his feelings by claiming the man was just too perfect to be real. To perfect _for him_ to be real. Alfred had nearly all the qualities that appealed to Arthur, and for this long he'd hidden it from himself. He entertained the idea, testing the validity of it, and found there was nothing he could tell himself it wasn't real.

They knew each other well enough. Arthur had just never bothered to sit down and have a proper conversation with him, but they were around one another to be considered friends, right? Arthur was suddenly plagued by a horrible insecure feeling, what if Alfred didn't think they were friends? What if he wasn't even gay, but just supported gays wholly? What if he didn't mean anything he had said to Arthur at all?

Well, he didn't have any control over that. Arthur tried to stop being so paranoid, but he supposed that came with unanswered questions when one was in love. All he knew was that he was hopelessly attracted to his fellow actor.

 _Besides,_ he told himself. _Didn't Alfred seem nervous around you? He bought you tea, and complimented you in front of the world._ That gave him some hope.

Alfred soon realised that Arthur was watching him dazedly with his jaw hanging open, and he stopped talking for a moment. "Uh, Arthur? You okay?"

Immediately, Arthur shut his mouth and shook his head quickly, as if trying to clear his head. "Yes, yes, I'm fine, Alfred." He noticed Alfred's blue eyes crinkle at the edges, indicating he was smiling. Smiling sort of fondly, actually.

"Are we on first name basis now?" he asked jokingly. "I don't think you've ever called me anything other than Mr. Jones."

He must have expected Arthur to get angry, for his eyes widened and he opened his mouth as if to take it back, but Arthur just rolled his eyes. "Cheeky." was all he said, and Alfred fell silent with a grin.

The night ended when a waiter came to inform them that it was past closing time with a terse smile, so Alfred and Arthur hurried out to spare the poor restaurant workers.

Neither of them thought to call their agents. Arthur wasn't sure about Alfred, but he knew he wasn't calling anyone on purpose.

It was a beautiful night in the city. The streets were lit with a fair amount of cars and neon signs, but there was hardly anyone around. Both the actors felt safe enough to walk on without masks.

The silence was comfortable, and for once, Arthur didn't feel compelled to walk faster. Instead, he and Alfred matched strides. Since the sun had gone down, the night air was pleasantly cool and the sounds just harmonised with the breeze.

Shadows made way for them, lights became dreamy as they went by, and for some reason throughout all the busy turmoil of a city, the place was quiet and lonely just for them. They didn't need to know where they were walking. They just had to go together, and the city seemed to agree with that.

At some point close to midnight, Arthur wasn't sure why, but they stopped. They just stopped and stared, looking ahead at the intricate networks of highways ahead and hotels lit up with rooms that looked like tiny pixels from so far away.

The silence didn't last long. "You know, uh…" Alfred started, looking down at their feet. "Tonight was really fun. I'd like to do this again sometime."

"I agree." Arthur replied simply.

Alfred turned his head to grin at Arthur. "I was serious about telling our directors about the...You know."

"Yes."

"I, ahem." Alfred cleared his throat. Then, he turned his body to face Arthur's. Curiously, Arthur mirrored him. "I, uh...C-could you close your eyes?"

When presented with odd requests such as that, Arthur could never find a reason to protest. He frowned, but complied.

His face suddenly felt warm with the presence of another near him, and Arthur fought the urge to lean away. What was Alfred doing, and why was he hesitating? Purely because he wanted to know so badly what was happening, Arthur turned his face towards Alfred and open his eyes.

Only to realise he had angled his face perfectly for Alfred to kiss him delicately on his lips.

Immediately, they both blushed a deep rosy shade and backed off. "I-I'm so sorry, that-that was an accident, I-" Alfred started.

"Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry, I-I wanted to know what you were doing and-"

They fell silent after accidentally cutting each other off.

Then, they smiled.

And then they both started laughing, which to Arthur was one of the most terrifying and exciting parts of it. The butterflies in his stomach were delighted and he could certainly feel it. For awhile, they were the only ones around, laughing hard enough to make their faces hurt. Luckily, Alfred seemed to be laughing for the same reason he was, and thought the situation was just silly.

They did have to part at some point, though.

After he'd calmed down, Alfred touched Arthur's shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow." he said warmly, and then leaned in for the kiss he had meant to give, planting a soft kiss on Arthur's cheek before he could react.

Arthur smiled. "And I you." he returned, hoping his voice was level. Then, deciding to be bold, he stood up on his toes so he could reach Alfred's cheek to return the innocent kiss.

That earned a giggle from Alfred, and in a mess of delight, they made was was sort of a hug but really was just an overly excited lean on each other. They were just so excited to be able to touch each other, even if it was only briefly.

"...Hello, yes, this is Arthur. I need a ride back to my hotel." Arthur spoke into his phone after Alfred had walked off. "Also, can you get me on the phone with the director? I have something important I need to tell him."

O~o~O

" _Inthral, I think I…"_

" _Felsef, I…"_

" _Oh, I'm sorry. You go ahead."_

" _Huh? No, you were talking first."_

Alfred giggled quietly at the dialogue, and, next to him, Arthur was trying to hide his smile. They were on the last episode of the next installment of Faerie Tales, now that it was finally done, and they got the first look.

The adventure they had scripted out verbally in that restaurant had finally made it to the screen, and towards the end of the season, the two main characters were starting to show sure signs of attraction.

 _Inthral grabbed Felsef's wrist and together they sprinted through the forest. Something was right on their tails, but luckily, Inthral knew his way around. "Don't think, just run!" he yelled, and the starship captain obeyed without a second thought. But despite their efforts, the mystical monster appeared to be gaining ground._

Somewhere in the middle of the action scene, Alfred's hand had found Arthur's, and they laced their fingers together absentmindedly.

" _INTHRAL, NO!" Felsef yelled, skidding to a stop and reaching for the man. Inthral had taken out his blade and was ready to defend the captain's life from the massive beast._

" _Stay back!" Inthral warned. "Get back to your ship! Their lives are in danger!"_

 _Felsef pulled out his laser gun. "Your life matters too! Come on, we can get away! If we can get to my ship I can protect you!"_

Arthur smiled faintly at the way Inthral looked back at Felsef in shock. No one had ever told him that before.

 _Once again, they ran, the monster wasting no time in razing the forest around them. Somehow, despite all the odds, they both made it to the ship and were able to dive inside. The monster couldn't break through the tough metal shell of the hull, and all it took to bring it down was a few frantic orders into the intercom and a couple of phaser blasts._

 _Inthral and Felsef collapsed on the bridge, both panting heavily._

" _Sir?" the first officer looked at her captain, questioning the meaning of this new person on board._

 _Before anything else happened, the screen panned towards the look Felsef and Inthral shared._

 _Felsef smiled slightly. "That was exciting." he said lowly._

" _Agreed…" Inthral said breathlessly._

 _Some silent agreement was made as Felsef propped himself up on his elbows and leaned towards Inthral. The forest-explorer went still, closing his eyes. For just a moment, their lips met, but some effect(probably the dramatic music) made it feel like an electrical storm. They kissed in a glorious moment of relief, before Felsef sat back, blushing heavily. It was unlike the surly captain to be so flustered, and some of the crew couldn't help laughing a little bit._

" _Come with me." the captain said, desperation reflecting on his expression. "You've shown me your forests. I want to show you my stars."_

 _Inthral blinked up at Felsef with big green eyes, searching those celestial blue eyes above him for certainty. "O...Okay." he agreed softly_

The credits rolled. The room was filled with cheers from the cast and crew.

"I think we did well." Arthur hummed, pleased with the turnout. "I especially loved Captain Felsef's role."

Alfred grinned at him, and leaned over to press a kiss to his cheek. "I think Inthral was the best." he countered teasingly. "You know, I can't wait for the next con."

* * *

 **This was written on July 24th, 2016 for the Summer Festival Exchange on Tumblr, for Owynsama.**


End file.
